Toothbrush



Oct. 10, 1933. ABELSON 1,929,530

TOOTHBRUSH Filed Aug. 11, 1931 ATTORNEY NVENTOR Patented Oct. 10; 1933 l 1,929,530. 'TTOOTHBRUSH I Martin Abelson, Portland, -Oreg;

Application August if; 1931. Serial No. 55 ,401 2 Claims. (CL-15 -167) My invention relates to tooth brushesand the like. p

In the practice of preventive dentistry it'is especially important that the accumulations of food particles and other organic matter be thoroughlycleaned from the inter-proximal surfaces of the teeth and fromunder the gingival or free marginal surfaces of the gums. Such accumulations, especially under the said gingival margins, if not removed cause the teeth to decay,'infect the gums, and ultimately cause suc diseases as pyorrhea and the like. I

It is estimated that ninety per centof the people over 'the age of suffer more or less from pyorrhea, which is directly traceable to in- 1 efficient and improper cleaning of the teeth.

The simplest meansof ,-preventing s110h dls eases as pyorrhea and'the-like, is by. the use of a tooth brush, but. to be effective'the tooth brush must be adapted to clean all the surfaces of .the teeth, as mentioned; He'retoforetooth brushes; have been constructedwith the bristle clusters arranged closely-together sothat .a portion of the bristles bearagainst the sides of the. teeth but this prevents any of the. bristles from reaching the inter-proximal surfaces effectively and under the gingival margins.withtheresult that the teeth and gums efiiciently cleaned. i p

Therefore the principal object of my invention I is to provide a toothbrush adaptedto properly I and efficiently clean all the inter-proximal surfaces of the teeth, .and around'and; under the gingival or free margins offthe gums to pr event pyorrhea and the like." i

A further object of my invention is to provide a tooth brush, the end bristle tufts of which are adapted to reach 'under' and around the gingival or free marginal surfaces of thegums and so relatively arranged as to besupported V embodiment of my invention three'transversely each by the other to withstand the pressure necessary in reaching under said gingival margins; particularly the distal gingival margins of-the last molars, which are difficult to reach and re-. quire considerable pressure to force the bristle ing a handle provided at one end with spacedtransversely extending narrow clusters of bris-.

tles, one cluster located. at the brush-end, such cluster and the next two clusters spaced equi-v distant longitudinally of the brush, each cluster composed of transverselyarranged clusters of g which wouldotherwise lie intermediate the interbristles of substantial length, the end cluster the adjacent gingival margins;

are not properly" and flanked on the side adjacent the brush end by an additional cluster ofbristles, thetip of such cluster having an oblique angle towards the brush endand thetips of the remaining clusters being wedge-shaped.

These and other incidental features of my invention, the detailstof construction and mode of using my tooth brush are hereinafterfurther described with reference to the accompanying drawing. 7 V

In the drawing: I M Fig. 1- shows a side elevation of my tooth brush and illustrates thelrelative arrangement of the bristle clusters; Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the same and further illustrates the arrangement of the bristle clusters;

Fig. 3 shows in combination-with a fragmentary view-of a typodont how my brush is adapted for brushing the inter-proximal surfaces of the pos terior teeth;

Fig. 4 shows similarly how the tuftsof the end clusters of my-brush are adapted for brushing the distal surfaces of the end molars and under Fig. 5 shows how the lingual ofthe anterior teeth are brushed;

'; Fig. 6 shows how the tufts of the end clusters are adapted for brushing thegingival margins and labial surfaces of the anterior teeth; and

Figs. 7 and 8 sho'w; respectively; side and plan views of 'a modification of my brush in which the bristle clusters, except those on the end. of my brush, are composed of but two transversely ar-. rangedtufts, slightly spaced apart.

Referring now to Figs. 1" and 2;My tooth brush comprises a handle 11 provided atone end with transversely arranged and longitudinally spaced bristle clusters c,'0Z, e and f. I

The clusters 0, d, e, and comprisein this arranged bristle tufts. The cluster 0 is arranged adjacent the end of the handle a and the clusters (1 and e are preferablyspaced therefrom equal distances approximately the width of the molars gingival margins shownin the typodont a: in Fig. 3 and the clusters f are spaced from the cluster 6- a lesser distance the posteriorteeth, as illustrated-in Fig; 3, which are the most difficult to reach. I

'Furthersuch spacing eliminates the bristles proximal surfaces of the teeth and by bearing against the buckle or lingual surfaces prevent any of the bristles from reaching said interproximal surfaces.

The extremities of the clusters d, e, and f are formed wedge-shaped, as at p, to permit them to slip readily between the teeth without being bent or crushed by coming squarely into contact with the high surfaces of the teeth.

An additional bristle cluster 9 is located close to the cluster 0 and between them and the end of the handle a. The extremities of the clusters 0 and g are formed at an oblique angle as at :i, and thus provide an extended brushing surface adapted to reach under the gingival or free marginal surfaces of the gums, as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6.

The bristle tufts of the cluster 9 are two in number and are arranged in line with the spaces between the tufts of the cluster 0, see Fig. 2, and thus serve eifectively to support the said clusters 0 when bent over by a longitudinally brushing motion of the brush.

Such arrangement also permits the cluster g to be secured close to the end of the handle so that the latter will not come into contact with the gums when brushing under the free marginal surfaces, to further overcome such difficulty, I have beveled the end of the handle a, as at q.

In Fig. 4 is illustrated how the clusters 0 and g serve to clean the distal surfaces of the end molars, as at Z, and to reach under the gingival margins, as at It, a place practically impossible to reach with the conventional type of tooth brush.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated the same operation in brushing the lingual gingival margins, as at n, of the anterior teeth.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated how my tooth brush is adapted to brush th labial inter-proximal surface of the anterior teeth and the gingival margins of the same. Fig. 6 further illustrates how the bristle tufts of the cluster 9 divide, one going into the inter-proximal surface on each side of an anterior tooth, as at s. v

I have found the most efiective length of bristles to be approximately and preferably not more than of an inch, as that is suificient to reach all portions of the inter-proximal surfaces and yet at the same time does not lessen the stiffness of the bristles by making them of undue length.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I have shown a modification of my brush in which the bristle clusters 01, c and f are composed of but two transversely spaced tufts, arranged somewhat farther apart transversely of the handle a than those described before, the advantage of which is that one tuft will then enter the inter-proximal surfaces below the point of contact of the interproximal surfaces of the teeth and the other above the said point of contact, so that no bristles will be crushed down by being brought directly into contact with the closed portions of the inter-proximal surfaces.

Further, for special use, such as for treating advanced cases of pyorrhea, I may provide clusters equivalent to the clusters d, e, f of a single spaced tuft adapted for reaching deeply into the inter-proximal gingival margins.

I have found my tooth brushis most eifectively used when brushing the inter-proximal surfaces of the teeth by a short vertical vibratory motion to force the bristles between the teeth and for brushing the lingual surfaces with the end clusters, c, g, by a short horizontal and vertical chop py stroke so as to not only reach all portions of the teeth but also to massage the gums and thus stimulate circulation.

I claim:

1. A tooth brush comprising a handle provided at one end with longitudinally spaced, transversely extending narrow clusters of bristles, one cluster located at the end of the brush handle, such cluster and the next two clusters being spaced substantially equi-distant longitudinally of the brush, and a fourth cluster spaced a lesser distance from the adjacent cluster, the tip of the cluster located at the end of the brush handle being flanked on the side adjacent the brush handle end by an additional cluster of bristles, the tips of such latter clusters having an oblique angle toward the handle end;

2. A tooth brush comprising a handle provided at one end with longitudinally spaced, transversely extending narrow clusters of bristles, one cluster located at the end of the brush handle, such cluster and the next two clusters being spaced substantially equi-distant longitudinally of the brush, and a fourth cluster spaced a lesser distance from the adjacent cluster, the tip of the cluster located at the end of the brush handle being flanked. on the side adjacent the brush handle end by an additional cluster of bristles, the tips of such latter clusters having an oblique angle toward the handle end, the tufts ofbristles making up such additional cluster being arranged in alignment with the spaces between the tufts of bristles of the adjacent cluster, whereby such additional cluster reinforces the adjacent cluster in use.

MARTIN ABELSON. 

